Hold emergency meeting on Tuesday to control air pollution: SC to Centre

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday asked the Centre to call an emergency meeting on Tuesday for immediate steps to stop the capital's air pollution. The suggested steps include stopping non-essential construction transport, power plants and introduction of work from home.

A bench, headed by Chief Justice N V Ramana, and comprising Justices D Y Chandrachud and Surya Kant directed the secretaries concerned of Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Punjab and Delhi to attend the meeting to make their submissions before the committee formed by it.

Based on the affidavit filed by respondents and after hearing, the court said, "we come to the conclusion the major culprits of pollution are construction activity, industry, transport, power and vehicular traffic apart from stubble burning in some parts. Even though some decisions were taken by the Commission for Air Quality Management in the National Capital Region and Adjoining Areas Act has not indicated precisely what steps they are going to take to control factors that are causing air pollution."

"In view of that, we direct the government of India to a call for an emergency meeting tomorrow and discuss the areas which we indicated and what orders they can pass to effectively control air pollution. So far, as stubble burning is concerned, broadly affidavits state that their contribution is not so much except for two months. However, at present a good amount of stubble burning is taking place in Haryana and Punjab," the bench said.

The top court also asked the state governments of Punjab and Haryana to pursue the farmers for two weeks not to do stubble burning.

"We direct the government of India, NCR states to examine introducing work from home for employees," the bench said.

(Based on PTI feed with minor edits)